As I mentioned in my first blog post, I am not an outdoorsy person. This has made preparing for an 11-month backpacking trip a rather…humbling experience. Seriously, I’ve never felt more ignorant than when wandering through outdoor stores trying to find things on my World Race packing list, having to rely 100% on the advice of the salespeople ‘cause I definitely have no idea what to buy.
But the past few times I’ve worked up the courage to actually purchase something, I’ve been reminded of a specific passage of Scripture connected to that piece of gear. I feel that this is one of the ways that God is revealing Himself to me in this season of my life, which has led me to share it with you.
And so I happily present “Lessons Learned from Camping Gear: Part 1.” Today’s episode? My backpack.
This key piece of equipment will hold all of my belongings. Everything. Which means that I will have to carry all of my belongings. For 11 months.
With this being the case, it was very important that I get the right pack, one that is big enough to hold everything but not so big that I can’t pick it up. You should have seen me shopping for this backpack. It took me three trips to REI and one purchased and returned pack to choose the right one. (Shout out to the REI salesman Ken for his patience and helpfulness.)
One of the steps in the selection process was to fill the pack with weight and walk around the store to make sure that I can actually handle it. The result of that little experiment was me struggling hardcore to stay upright. Seriously, the number of times I had to catch my balance was hilarious. I eventually got the backpack fitted correctly, which made a huge difference in my ability to carry it, but here’s the deal: that didn’t change the weight of the pack. It was still 30+ pounds. And that was still lighter than it will actually be on the Race!
This experience brought to my mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30. He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Let’s just think about that for a second.
Jesus is asking us to take His yoke, but He promises it will not be burdensome.
Sometimes what we are called to do, or asked to go through, or forced to carry in this life seems crazy and overwhelming. It may feel too heavy for our frame. We may even have trouble staying upright. But Jesus is there to “readjust our backpack” to make it easier for us to carry. He is there to give us rest.
It’s nice to know that when things are hard, I don’t have to carry this load on my own.
I’ll leave y’all with this song on the subject. It’s one of my favorites.
